Gigraphy Review - Taylor Swift, Anfield, 14/06/24

Words by Jessica Amy

Photo Credit: TAS Rights Management

It’s been a long time coming…

We counted days and counted miles for The Eras Tour to finally land in the UK and boy did it land, with an almighty BANG. 3 hours 22 minutes, 45 songs, 16 costume changes and not 1 falter from the lyrically acclaimed, show-woman that is Taylor Alison Swift.

Paramore kicked off the evening and readied the audience for Taylor’s imminent arrival. Handpicked by the leading light herself, Hayley Williams confessed that the band never imagined to be on tour with someone so brilliant and are very grateful, welling up as she spoke. Though Paramore’s music was possibly a bit heavier than most Taylor fans were used to, there was a good portion that had a big place in their hearts for them and the crowd was less than quiet during their set. Particularly during their better known hits, the band appeared to have a ball rocking with the crowd. After expertly hyping up the audience for the main event, Paramore left the stage and we were back to eagerly waiting.

With 100 shows having already been and gone, fans on social media were familiar with Taylor’s pre-set playlist and knew that Applause by Lady Gaga was the last song to play before the event we had all not-so-patiently waited for. The anticipation built tenfold and the crowd grew more rowdy and restless. Anfield was engulfed in excited screams as the countdown filled the screen and the famous Eras Tour intro began. I’ve never seen one person have such an effect over such a large group of people, 62,000+ humans literally on the edge of their seat, legs bouncing in suspense.

After what felt like an age, but was only realistically around 4-5 minutes, Taylor made her ethereal entrance to the stage. The audience were ready - she instantly had them in the palm of her hand. Under her glorious spell.

Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince warmed everybody up for the evening and this is when she addressed spectators watching with “Oh hi!”, like they’d just bumped into each other down a supermarket aisle, like they were old friends having not seen each other in a while. Despite only being the first song and first few moments of the mammoth night ahead, it set the tone for how Taylor views her fans and anyone that comes to spend time with her, and that is with a whole lot of love.

Photo Credit: TAS Rights Management

For 3 hours and 22 minutes straight, Taylor made it her mission to make the audience in Anfield feel special, like we were the first show she’d ever played. She threw out cheeky grins and shocked faces at the noise of us, saying things like “We really should have been playing Liverpool all along!” and praising us for being so interactive. The enormity of the tour, the show, and her effect were not lost on her.

Taylor was not alone on stage throughout the night, she was joined by a full band, most of which has been with her since the beginning of her 18 year career. She also had a diverse circle of dancers and backing singers behind her, all of different race, body type and gender. The connection she had with each individual performer was evident from the interactions she had with each one during their time on stage; the unity was beautiful.

The setlist comprised specially selected tracks from each of her ‘eras’, taking us along the journey from Taylor’s breakthrough into country, to pop princess, to the lyrical masterpieces of her lockdown projects. Each era was remarkable in its own right, meticulously planned out and perfected, full of relevant, spectacular set pieces and refined choreography.

Taylor flew through her life's work with the giddiness of a child saying ‘Look what I did!’, swaying through the romantics of Lover and diving into the signature sound of guitar twangs of Fearless before heading into her pop evolution of Red.

Photo Credit: TAS Rights Management

The Red era was when we saw Taylor greet her young fan during 22, handpicked from the audience each show day at the end of the catwalk. One of the most heartwarming moments of the night. Swift asked the fan if she was able to hug her, before placing the 22 hat on her head and high fiving her. I can already see the young fan growing up and holding onto that memory for years and years to come.

Despite the fact that it was the 101st show of The Eras Tour, every second felt new and magical, Taylor managed to make each segment feel fresh with little anecdotes and interactions with the crowd, laughing like we were old friends, like we were in on the joke.

The ‘Folklore’ era stood out to me the most, not only because the sister albums are my personal favourite and hold a lot of sentimentality for me, but also because Taylor had the nerve to wear BLUE in Anfield!! The horror! Words will be had, Miss Swift.

Special mention goes to the ear-splitting cheers after Champagne Problems, which lasted 2 minutes and 24 seconds. The record unfortunately wasn’t beaten but it was more than enough to shock Taylor and have her mouthing ‘Excuse me, what?!’ and hugging herself.

The newly added Tortured Poets Department segment felt like it had been part of the tour from the beginning, with the choreography and intricately thought out scenes being so pin-sharp and well rehearsed. Though the latest record is still relatively new, the crowd was no less deafening throughout, with fans passionately roaring along to the harrowing bridge of The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived. Affectionately nicknamed ‘Female Rage: The Musical’, it was not far from the truth, screaming along to tracks that hold such emotion felt a little like therapy, it was cathartic.

Photo Credit: TAS Rights Management

Before reaching the final era, Taylor treated us to her famous acoustic surprise songs set, in which she typically mashes up 4 songs as her parting gift to us. She began on her acoustic guitar, mixing This Is What You Came For (written by Taylor herself for Rihanna) with gold rush. Personally this wasn’t my favourite and I was a little disappointed as I had hoped for an original but the maestro SWIFTLY redeemed herself when she moved to the piano and mixed the great war with You’re Losing Me, changing the lyrics from ‘we survived the great war’ to ‘I survived the great war’. Chills.

All too soon we had reached Midnights, the last era, and not one drop of energy had been lost, from both fans and performers. Swift’s production was bright, colourful and fun right up until the end.

A moment that really tugged at my heart was when she sang the lyric ‘no one wanted to play with me as a little kid’ from Mastermind and it had me thinking, that little girl will always be inside her, begging others to come and play. Except now, she had invited us all to her party and every single one of us showed up.

Closing with Karma, Anfield was ablaze with dazzling tassel jackets, dancing and fireworks lighting up the night sky, bidding us the most beautiful farewell.

I have spent days recovering from this show, often taking the tab out of my light up bracelet to relive the magic for a few fleeting seconds. I tried to be as unbiased as possible - but also I’m a FAN and this night blew my little mind. What a woman and what a night, thank you Taylor and team for the most unbelievable experience.